Drum type washing and drying machine

ABSTRACT

A drum type washing and drying machine includes a cylindrical rotary drum provided with drum perforations and having a rotating shaft in a horizontal or a slanted direction; a water tub, supported in a main body of the drum type washing and drying machine, for accommodating therein the rotary drum; a dehumidification unit for dehumidifying air exhausted from the rotary drum via the water tub; and a blower-heater path communicating with the dehumidification unit and incorporating therein a blower and a heater. The washing and drying machine is also provided with a circulation path for allowing the blower-heater path and the rotary drum to communicate with each other via the water tub. An opening sealing member is installed at a connection opening between the blower-heater path and circulation path such that the opening sealing member is disposed to be rotable in conjunction with an operation of the blower.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a drum type washing and drying machine for performing washing, rinsing, water-extracting and drying processes in a rotary drum having a substantially horizontal or slanted rotational axis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional drum type washing and drying machine includes a cylindrical rotary drum disposed in a water tub such that it is driven to rotate and its rotational axis is horizontal or slanted with respect to the horizontal direction. The cylindrical rotary drum having a bottom surface is provided with multiple drum perforations for allowing water and air to pass therethrough on its cylindrical surface. Further, formed at a front side of the water tub is a laundry loading/unloading opening, which is opened and closed with a door. After loading laundry in the rotary drum through the laundry loading/unloading opening, washing, rinsing and water-extracting processes are performed by controlling water supply and drain into and from the water tub and also by controlling the rotation of the rotary drum.

Moreover, by forming an air circulation channel for exhausting air from the water tub, running thus exhausted air through a dehumidification unit and a heating unit and re-circulating thus dehumidified and heated air back into the water tub, a drying process for drying laundry accommodated in the rotary drum can be performed. In such a way, the drum type washing and drying machine is capable of executing the drying process in addition to the washing, the rinsing and the water-extracting process. Detergent can be added into a detergent dispenser prior to starting the operation of the drum type washing and drying machine; and a control panel can be manipulated as needed to set up a desired operation process of the washing and drying machine, start the operation or temporarily pause the operation, and find out the operation status. Further, lint or the like produced from laundry during the drying process is collected in a lint trap filter installed in the air circulation channel, so that the lint can be prevented from being accumulated in the air circulation channel or in a fan.

In case of performing a washing process in the drum type washing and drying machine having the above-described configuration, the rotational frequency of the rotary drum is controlled or the type of usable detergent is defined in order to prevent a generation of an excessively great deal of foams, i.e., overfoaming, due to agitation movement of laundry (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2000-93697).

With a conventional structure of an air flow path accommodating a blower and a heater therein (hereinafter, simply referred to as a blower-heater path), however, there occurs a problem that a great deal of detergent foam generated in the rotary drum enters the blower-heater path communicating with the drum to submerge a fan or a heating unit therein, thus resulting in generation of bad smell and/or deterioration of reliability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a drum type washing and drying machine capable of preventing entrance of detergent foam into a blower-heater path from a rotary drum and thus preventing a generation of bad smells caused thereby, while securing improved reliability of the heater unit and the blower unit.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a drum type washing and drying machine including: a cylindrical rotary drum provided with multiple drum perforations on a cylindrical surface thereof and having a rotating shaft in a horizontal or a slanted direction; a water tub, elastically supported in a main body of the drum type washing and drying machine, for accommodating therein the rotary drum; a dehumidification unit for dehumidifying air exhausted from the rotary drum via the water tub; a blower-heater path communicating with the dehumidification unit and incorporating therein a blower and a heater; a circulation path for allowing the blower-heater path and the rotary drum to communicate with each other via the water tub; and an opening sealing member installed at a connection opening provided between the blower-heater path and circulation path, the opening sealing member being rotable in conjunction with an operation of the blower. Accordingly, even in case a user mistakenly adds too much detergent to laundry and, thus, an excessively great deal of detergent foam are generated, entrance of the detergent foam into the heater and the blower in the blower-heater path can be prevented. As a consequence, generation of bad smells due to the heater and the blower being submerged in the detergent foam can be avoided, and reliability of the heater and the blower can be obtained.

Further, the opening sealing member has a rotation axis which divides the opening sealing member into a left and a right portion, and a weight balance between the left and the right portion with respect to the rotation axis is maintained such that the opening sealing member closes the connection opening while the blower is stopped, and opens the connection opening by making a rotation when the blower is operated. Thus, when the detergent foam are generated in the water tub during a washing process, an operation of the blower is stopped and further the opening sealing member serves to close the connection opening, thereby preventing the detergent foam from entering the heater and the blower in the blower-heater path. As a consequence, generation of bad smells due to the heater and the blower being submerged in the detergent foam can be avoided, and reliability of the heater and the blower can be obtained.

Furthermore, the opening sealing member has a rotation axis, and facing surfaces of the connection opening and the opening sealing member in an axial direction of the rotation axis are formed to have substantially planar shapes. Thus, rotational movements of the opening sealing member can be executed smoothly, thereby enhancing reliability.

Moreover, the opening sealing member has a rotation axis which divides the opening sealing member into a left and a right portion having different areas. Thus, the opening and closing of the opening sealing member by the rotational movements of the opening sealing member can be performed securely, thereby improving reliability.

Further, the opening sealing member has a rotation axis which divides the opening sealing member into a left and a right portion, and a weight is disposed in either one of the left and the right portion. Thus, the opening and closing of the opening sealing member by the rotational movements of the opening sealing member can be performed securely, thereby improving reliability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 sets forth a schematic cross sectional view of the drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 presents a cross sectional view of major components in the vicinity of a blower-heater path of the drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 depicts a bottom view of the blower-heater path of the drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited thereto.

A drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in conjunction with FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 presents a schematic cross sectional view thereof. Further, FIG. 3 sets forth a cross sectional view of major components in the vicinity of a blower-heater path of the drum type washing and drying machine and FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the blower-heater path.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, main body 1 of the drum type washing and drying machine includes therein water tub 3 supported on damper structure 2, and cylindrical rotary drum 4 having a bottom surface is rotably installed in water tub 3 such that the axial direction of its rotating shaft 5 is declined toward a rear side of main body 1. Further, provided at a front side of water tub 3 is laundry loading/unloading opening 6 that is configured to be connected to an opening of rotary drum 4. After opening door 9 for opening or closing opening 8 provided at an inclined surface of front frame 7 forming front surface of main body 1, laundry can be loaded into or unloaded from rotary drum 4 through laundry loading/unloading opening 6. By installing door 9 at the inclined surface, a user can load and unload the laundry without bending down, ameliorating the inconvenience of a conventional drum type washing machine employing a structure of loading and unloading laundry into and from rotary drum 4 through an opening provided in a horizontal direction.

Rotary drum 4 is provided with multiple drum perforations 10 communicating with water tub 3 on its cylindrical surface, and agitation blades 11 are installed at a plurality of locations on the inner cylindrical surface of rotary drum 4. Rotary drum 4 is driven to rotate in forward and backward directions by motor 12 installed in a rear side of water tub 3. Further, water supply conduit (not shown) and water drain conduit 13 are connected to water tub 3, and water supply and drain into and from water tub 3 are performed under a control of water supply valve 14 and water drain valve 15.

Provided at an upper central portion of front frame 7 is control panel 16, which can be manipulated by a user as needed to set up a desired operation of the drum type washing and drying machine, start the operation or temporarily pause the operation, and find out the operating status thereof.

Moreover, the drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention has a drying function for drying the laundry accommodated in rotary drum 4. For that purpose, there is formed air circulation channel 17 for exhausting air from water tub 3, dehumidifying thus exhausted air, heating thus dehumidified air and re-circulating thus heated dry air back into water tub 3.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, air circulation channel 17 has, blower-heater path 18, dehumidification unit 20 with heat exchanger plate 19 and circulation path 22 connected to warm air inlet 21 provided at a rear side of water tub 3, wherein dehumidification unit 20 and circulation path 22 are disposed at an input side and an output side of air circulation channel 17. Blower-heater path 18 has fan (blower unit) 23 and heater (heater unit) 24 therein.

Further, detergent dispenser 28 is installed at a front side of main body 1, and air outlet 29 forming an air circulation passageway for the drying process and communicating with dehumidification unit 20 is installed in water tub 3. Moreover, first bellows hose 31 connecting air circulation channel 17 with dehumidification unit 20 is installed at an upper portion of water tub 3, and lint trap filter 32 is disposed at an input side of air circulation channel 17. Also, at an output side of air circulation channel 17, there is installed second bellows hose 33, which serves to couple air circulation channel 17 to circulation path 22 communicating with warm air inlet 21.

Rotably installed at connection opening 25 between blower-heater path 18 and circulation path 22 via rotation axis 27 is opening sealing member 26 having the approximately same shape as connection opening 25. Opening sealing member 26 is positioned to close connection opening 25 when operation of fan 23 is stopped, and is configured to maintain a left-right weight balance with respect to rotation axis 27 such that it rotates to an opened position about rotation axis 27 by a wind pressure of fan 23 when fan 23 rotates, to thereby open connection opening 25.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when blower-heater path 18 is viewed from its bottom side, opening sealing member 26 is divided into two portions with respect to rotation axis 27: right-side A portion which is driven to open connection opening 25 downstream of a flow direction of wind generated by fan 23 and portion B opposite to portion A, wherein area Sa of portion A is set to be greater than area Sb of portion B (Sa>Sb). Further, weight 35 is installed at a bottom side of portion B in order to make weight Wb of portion B greater than weight Wa of portion A (Wb>Wa).

In the above configuration, since weight Wb of portion B is greater than weight Wa of portion A, opening sealing member 26 closes connection opening 25 when operation of fan 23 is stopped. Meanwhile, when fan 23 rotates, pressure Pa applied to portion A by the wind pressure of fan 23 becomes greater than pressure Pb applied to portion B (Pa>Pb) because area Sa of portion A is larger than area Sb of portion B. As a consequence, opening sealing member 26 is rotated as shown by a dashed-line arrow in FIG. 3, to thereby open connection opening 25. Furthermore, since portion A is located downstream of the wind flow direction while portion B is located upstream of the wind flow direction, the flow of wind becomes to press a top side of portion A while pressing a bottom side of portion B to thereby maintain the open state thereof when opening sealing member 26 is opened. Thus, the wind can flow through the entire cross section of connection opening 25.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, axial end surfaces 36 of rotation axis 27 of opening sealing member 26 have substantially planar shapes, and facing surfaces 37 of connection opening 25 that face axial end surfaces 36 are also formed to have substantially planar shapes. That is, the surfaces that face each other are formed in substantially planar shapes. As a result, the planar surfaces are brought into contact with each other when opening sealing member 26 is rotated due to the wind pressure of fan 23. Thus, the rotating movement of opening sealing member 26 can be executed smoothly.

Operation of the drum type washing and drying machine will now be described.

When the operation of the drum type washing and drying machine is initiated after loading laundry into rotary drum 4 through opening door 9, water supply valve 14 is opened and a predetermined amount of water is fed into water tub 3 via the water supply conduit (not shown). At this time, the detergent supplied into detergent dispenser 28 is dissolved in the water introduced into detergent dispenser 28 to be added into water tub 3. Then, rotary drum 4 is driven to rotate by motor 12 to initiate a washing process. As a result of the rotation of rotary drum 4 during the washing process, the laundry in rotary drum 4 is repeatedly lifted up in the drum's rotational direction by agitation blades 11 and then dropped. As the laundry is agitated in the rotary drum, it is subject to pounding motions to thereby be washed.

At this time, if the quantity of the added detergent is excessively great or depending on the type of the detergent employed, overfoaming may be caused through the repeated agitation of the laundry, wherein the laundry is lifted up by agitation blades 11 of rotary drum 4 and then dropped, and there is a likelihood that thus generated foams enter blower-heater path 18 via circulation path 22 from warm air inlet 21 provided at the rear side of water tub 3 to stick to heater 24 or driving unit 23 a of fan 23, thus resulting in corrosion thereof or deterioration of insulation efficiency.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, however, opening sealing member 26 is installed in connection opening 25 serving as a connection portion between blower-heater path 18 and circulation path 22, and opening sealing member 26 serves to close connection opening 25 because operation of fan 23 is stopped during the washing process. Since there hardly exists a gap between opening sealing member 26 and connection opening 25, the introduction of detergent foam via connection opening 25 can be prevented. Therefore, during a subsequent drying process to be described later wherein electricity is supplied to heater 24 to heat it, bad smell would not be generated because attachment of, e.g., detergent foam to heater 24 is prevented. Therefore, user facility can be improved. Moreover, the corrosion of heater 24 or driving unit 23 a of fan 23 or the deterioration of insulation efficiency thereof can also be prevented.

After the lapse of a predetermined washing time, water drain valve 15 is opened, and soiled water is discharged from water tub 3 via water drain conduit 13. Then, by performing a water-extracting process wherein rotary drum 4 is rotated at a high rotational speed, the soiled water contained in the laundry is extracted therefrom. Thereafter, fresh water is fed into water tub 3 via the water supply conduit (not shown), and a rinsing process is performed. During the rinsing process, the agitation of the laundry, wherein the laundry is lifted up by agitation blades 11 and then dropped, is repeated by the rotation of rotary drum 4, thereby the rinsing process of the laundry being performed. When the rinsing process is finished, a water-extracting process is performed, in which rotary drum 4 is rotated at a high rotational speed.

Upon the completion of the water-extracting process, a drying process is executed. During the drying process, rotary drum 4 is rotated at a preset rotational number, and the agitation of the laundry is repeated, wherein the laundry is lifted up by agitation blades 11 and then dropped. In addition, air in the interior of main body 1 is dehumidified and heated in the following sequence to be used in drying the laundry.

That is, by rotating fan 23 disposed within blower-heater path 18 in air circulation channel 17, opening sealing member 26 is rotated by the wind pressure of fan 23 to open connection opening 25 and airflow is generated within air circulation channel 17. Specifically, damp air in rotary drum 4 accommodating wet laundry therein is blown into water tub 3 through drum perforations 10 and is directed into dehumidification unit 20 via air outlet 29 of water tub 3. Disposed in dehumidification unit 20 is heat exchanger plate 19 which is cooled down by, e.g., spray of water supplied from water supply valve 14. Thus, the damp air exhausted from water tub 3 is cooled while it passes through heat exchanger plate 19 and dehumidified as moisture contained therein is condensed.

Thus dehumidified air is then directed to lint trap filter 32 via first bellows hose 31, so that lint generated from the laundry during the drying process is removed therefrom. Then, the lint-free air is introduced into blower-heater path 18 and is heated by heater 24. Thus heated dry air is then blown into water tub 3 from warm air inlet 21 after traveling through second bellows hose 33 to be re-directed into rotary drum 4. As such air circulation is repeated for a preset period of time, moisture contained in the laundry is gradually evaporated, and the drying process of the laundry is executed.

As described above, opening sealing member 26 rotates to open or close connection opening 25 in conjunction with the operation of fan 23 in the drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, opening sealing member 26 does not obstruct the flow of air during the drying process, while serving to prevent the entrance of detergent foam into blower-heater path 18.

The drum type washing and drying machine in accordance with the present invention is capable of preventing detergent foam from entering into the blower unit and the heater unit in the blower-heater path even in case an excessively large quantity of detergent foam are generated because a user adds too much detergent. Therefore, generation of bad smells as a result of the heater and the blower being submerged in the detergent foam can be avoided, and reliability of the heater unit and the blower unit can be secured.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. A drum type washing and drying machine comprising: a cylindrical rotary drum provided with multiple drum perforations on a cylindrical surface thereof and having a rotating shaft in a horizontal or a slanted direction; a water tub, elastically supported in a main body of the drum type washing and drying machine, for accommodating therein the rotary drum; a dehumidification unit for dehumidifying air exhausted from the rotary drum via the water tub; a blower-heater path communicating with the dehumidification unit and incorporating therein a blower and a heater; a circulation path for allowing the blower-heater path and the rotary drum to communicate with each other via the water tub; and an opening sealing member installed at a connection opening provided between the blower-heater path and circulation path, the opening sealing member being rotable in conjunction with an operation of the blower.
 2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the opening sealing member has a rotation axis which divides the opening sealing member into a left and a right portion, and a weight balance between the left and the right portion with respect to the rotation axis is maintained such that the opening sealing member closes the connection opening while the blower is stopped, and opens the connection opening by making a rotation when the blower is operated.
 3. The machine of claim 1, wherein the opening sealing member has a rotation axis, and facing surfaces of the connection opening and the opening sealing member in an axial direction of the rotation axis are formed to have substantially planar shapes.
 4. The machine of claim 1, wherein the opening sealing member has a rotation axis which divides the opening sealing member into a left and a right portion having different areas.
 5. The machine of claim 1, wherein the opening sealing member has a rotation axis which divides the opening sealing member into a left and a right portion, and a weight is disposed in either one of the left and the right portion. 